1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an attachment interface, of a type comprising a support platform fitted with a laterally setting flange, designed to allow, viz. to facilitate and to improve the mounting of bed legs, fitted with standard fasteners, onto square/rectangular cross-section tubular bed bases, or onto L-shaped angle irons making up the North-American type, metallic, bed base support structures.
2. Description of Related Art
A device of the prior art, the subject of patent No. FR2862503, provides for vertical three-step clamping of tubes: the lowering, on both sides of a tube, of a U-shaped flange, the vertical sides thereof being laterally fitted with racks, onto a laterally serrated block forming a counter-rack; the introduction of the ensemble—U-shaped flange+serrated block—in a vertical tube clamping interface and, last, the clamping by a rotating movement of the bed leg fastener within a threaded recess arranged at the bottom of the serrated block, whereby the top horizontal part of the bed leg comes to rest upon the vertical clamping attachment interface.
A second vertical tube clamping method, the subject of patent No. FR2912477, provides for vertical tube clamping through a bet rod driven by the rotating movement of the bed leg being installed. Its implementation takes necessarily place in three steps; to begin with, the height adjustment of a threaded recess, integral with the bent rod and designed to receive the upper bed leg fastener threads; next, the mounting of the unit onto the tube and the height adjustment and angle positioning of the tube clamping bent rod; and, last, the clamping of the ensemble leg/interface/tube.
Patents No. FR2862503 and FR2912477 provide, second, a lateral setting of tubes, in the first case, by means of symmetrical steps, arranged at the top of the vertical clamping interface, in a centered manner with respect to the U-shaped flange and with each couple thereof corresponding to a defined tube width; in the second case, by means of a lateral tube setting device, made up of a reversible chock which may be inserted into recess, the number thereof being necessarily limited.
The device according to patent No. FR2862503 has the drawback of spilling out in an unsightly and dangerous manner on the circulation space surrounding the bed.
The <<clamp>> arrangement adapted on patents No. FR2862503 and FR2912477 is a source of weakness in that it renders interdependent, first, the stability tube/attachment interface stability and, second, the stability of the bed leg attachment, both attachments being exposed to shock and vibration induced rotary motions.
The devices according to French patents No. FR2862503 and FR2912477 present the drawback of being only able to fit out square/rectangular cross-section tubes and not bed base supporting L-shaped angle iron structures.
These metallic structures are fitted out with various leg assembly attachment interfaces, essentially tubular, which only allow for mountings into dowels, wing nuts or directly into tubes which lack robustness and rigidity.
The device according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,571 is meant to make up for these drawbacks by allowing for the addition of a specific interface, welded and bolted to the ending of a tube acting as a leg and, which can only be installed onto lateral angle irons.
Consequently, the device cannot be installed on L-shaped iron angles laid out transversely, the angles and, as a result, the horizontal flanges of which being positioned at the top. The installation of midpoint legs on large-size structures cannot, accordingly, be envisaged. The installation of the device implies, furthermore, the use of a tool.
Finally, the use of a device according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,571 excludes any freedom of choice of bed legs, inasmuch as the attachment device is intrinsically part of each leg.